ADAM Johnson arrived in court with his girlfriend in tow for the first time today to face child sex charges.

The 27-year-old Sunderland winger, accused of three offences of sexual activity with a girl under 16 and one offence of grooming, was due to appear at Peterlee Magistrates' Court, County Durham, this Wednesday.

But the date of his appearance was moved forward to today after his legal team requested the date be moved.

It means the England international will now be able to help Sunderland attempt to earn victory over Arsenal this Wednesday.

The Wearside club need one point from their remaining two Premier League games to stave off the threat of relegation.

A spokeswoman for North Durham magistrates told the Daily Mirror the change of court date had been agreed by the Crown Prosecution Service.

She said: "The request was received from the defence team due to work commitments.

Johnson walked hand-in-hand with his girlfriend Stacey Flounders as he arrived at Peterlee Magistrates' Court this morning, for his first hearing since he was charged last month.

The Premier League star wore a grey suit with an open necked shirt for the five-minute appearance.

His solicitor, Paul Morris, indicated that Johnson would plea not guilty. No pleas were entered today.

Johnson did not comment as he left the court and was driven away in a Range Rover.

The Sunderland footballer was arrested in March after he was accused of sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl.

He was initially suspended by Sunderland shortly after his arrest, but was later allowed to resume training.

The midfielder has since played a number of games for the North-East side.

The three counts of sexual activity with a child were said to have taken place in January, while the meeting a child after sexual grooming offence was said to have happened between December and February.

The case was sent to Durham Crown Court for a preliminary hearing on June 3.